SnowCon is on

Let’s hear it for the geeks, the nerds and the dorks. The ones concerned not with how good their hair looks, or how trendy their music and shoes are, but with important matters. Matters of life and death. How best to kill this Bugbear that is terrorizing your questing party, or who it was that drank the last of the Mountain Dew, and how best to kill them. Being a nerd is serious business.

Freaks and geeks unite this weekend, with the second annual SnowCon, set for Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 16-17, at the Black Bear Inn and Convention Center, near the Stillwater I-95 exit in Orono, with a pre-party at The Dime in Old Town on Friday. The brainchild of Gibran Graham and Monique Bouchard, organizers of comic convention BangPop and “The Big Lebowski” celebration, the Lebowski Bowl-a-Rama, will again host gaming, films, talks, performances and all things nerdy.

The event kicks off with an opening night party at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 15, at The Dime, located at 283 Main St., formerly the location of Number Ten North Main. Comedian Sax Carr, who riffs on fanboys and girls from all areas of pop culture, will take the stage at 9 p.m., followed by Paradigm East belly dance troupe and DJ DeHuman8, who regularly spins at Portland’s Plague Gothic Maine events. The event is open to those 21 and over.

Saturday is when the all ages fun kicks off. Registration for all gaming sessions starts at 8 a.m., with games ranging from Axis & Allies and Star Wars to regular ol’ D&D. At 11 a.m., author Ethan Gilsdorf will read from and discuss his book “Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks”; at 1 p.m. Kishintaikan Dojo will give a traditional karate demonstration; and at 4 p.m. a Steampunk Soiree & Tea will be held. The night ends with an 8 p.m. screening of “Crossing Shadows,” a short film from Shadowrun Productions.

On Sunday, presentations from Game Master extraordinaire Drew Bouchard, the Game Loft in Belfast, the Society for Creative Anachronism and geek blogger Teresa Cassinelli are scheduled, along with plenty more gaming, which runs from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.

An all-weekend pass is $30, with gaming only passes for $20, observer-only for $10, and free admission for kids under 12 and teachers. For more information, visit www.bangpopmaine.com/snowcon10.